Located just a little more than 20 minutes from Downtown Fort Worth, the town of Grapevine has a lot to offer for the holidays. The self-proclaimed “Christmas Capital of Texas” has holiday events every year from mid-November to mid-January. Here are a few.
From 3pm to 9pm daily thru Dec 23, take a ride on the Grapevine Vintage Railroad’s North Pole Express (705 S Main St, 817-410-3185). Beyond the Christmas train ride itself, your experience will include a mug of Santa’s Special Frosty Chocolate Snow Milk with cookies, an onboard performance by Santa and his elves, and the opportunity to stroll through Snowy North Pole Forest with free photo ops along the path. You will take home a souvenir ticket, a keepsake photo with Santa, a memory mug, and a recipe card so you can re-create that special milk at home. Tickets are $34-38 at GrapevineTexasUSA.com.
From 4pm to 9pm daily thru Jan 3, head to Gaylord Texan Resort (1501 Gaylord Tr, 817-778-1000) for the Yuletide Bright outdoor holiday lantern display, where visitors are treated to more than 50,000 square feet of characters and scenes under the stars. Tickets are $10-15 at GaylordTexanTickets.com.
The Gaylord also has an indoor experience for those who want to stay warm. From 11am to 8pm Mon-Thu, 10am to 10pm Fri-Sat, and 10am to 8pm Sun, a multisensory pop-up exhibit called I Love Christmas Movies is happening daily thru Jan 3. As guests make their way through 13 immersive scenes with audio clips and film props, they become a part of the stories from A Christmas Story, Elf, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, The Polar Express, and The Year Without a Santa Claus. Tickets are $14.99-31.99 at GaylordTexanTickets.com.
Live concerts. Remember those? The Palace Theater (300 S Main St, 817-410-3541) is bringing in The Carpenters Tribute Concert: A Christmas Portrait, featuring Sally Olson as Karen Carpenter and Ned Mills as Richard Carpenter on Thu at 7:30pm and Fri 2pm and 7:30pm. This show re-creates the 1977 and 1978 Christmas TV specials with classic tunes like “The Christmas Song,” “Merry Christmas, Darling,” and “Sleigh Ride.” Tickets are $34 at GrapevineTexasUSA.com.
